Combined Occupational Therapy BS + MOT (COT)

Established in 1941, Eastern Michigan University’s Occupational Therapy Program has a long-standing tradition of excellence. The EMU OT Program provides competent and caring professionals to the local community as well as throughout the State of Michigan and across the nation.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook predicts that employment of occupational therapists is projected to grow 29 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. This is based on the general population growth and the increasing demand for services for those aged 75 years and older who are requiring occupational therapy services to improve their quality of life. In addition, emerging practice areas for occupational therapists, for example, in such areas as driver rehabilitation and fall prevention, continue to develop. Occupational therapists are employed in diverse settings including but not limited to hospitals, schools, rehabilitation facilities, long-term care facilities, home health care, and in areas of prevention and wellness. According to US News and World Report (2014), Occupational Therapy is the 9th best job in health care and 14th best job overall. In 2012, Forbes identified a master of occupational therapy as a top degree to pursue employment.

Learn

Our students will:

Be leaders and innovators, responsive to the changing health care needs of our diverse society.

Use occupation as the central focus of their practice.

Become competent and ethical professionals who use theory and research to guide their clinical practice.

Develop the skills to serve consumers through the roles of clinician, collaborator, coach, educator, and advocate.

Value promotion of social justice through service to the community

Opportunities

Many of our occupational therapy students take advantage of engaging in the community and classroom through organizations such as the Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) and Pi Theta. Students develop clinical and critical thinking skills through part- and full-time fieldwork during five semesters in the program and they have opportunities for interprofessional education with programs within and outside of the University.

Accreditation | The EMU Occupational Therapy program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 4720 Montgomery Lane, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814-3449. ACOTE’s telephone number, c/o AOTA, is 301.652.AOTA and web address is www.acoteonline.org.

Program Admission

The Occupational Therapy Program Admission Requirements were developed to be straightforward and attainable for prospective applicants and are intended to serve as a guide for those interested in applying to the program. These are the minimum requirements for an application to be reviewed and evaluated. All admission requirements must be met for an applicant portfolio to be considered and reviewed. Simply meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee admission to the program.

There are two routes of entry to the occupational therapy degree. Student applicants are integrated into one cohort once admitted into the program. Please carefully review the tracks below to identify which option fits you.

If you are applying to the occupational therapy program as an undergraduate student and will not have completed a degree prior to the start of the program you should apply to the program as a Combined Occupational Therapy (COT) student.

If you are applying to the occupational therapy program and have already received a bachelor’s degree or will have received a degree prior to the start of the program you should apply as a graduate student to the MOT program.

Option 1 Masters of Occupational Therapy (MOT)

The Masters of Occupational Therapy (MOT) track is designed for individuals who have already completed an undergraduate degree in a field other than occupational therapy. Applicants to this track must have a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college/university or appropriate international institution. Candidates may apply while their degree is in progress, but degree completion, demonstrated by transcript evaluation, is necessary prior to the start of the Occupational Therapy Program. This track requires students to complete twenty-four months of full-time, year-round graduate course work in occupational therapy followed by 24 weeks of Level II Fieldwork. This track culminates with a Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT degree).

The Combined Occupational Therapy (COT) track is often referred to as the 3+2 program. The COT track is designed for undergraduate students who do not yet have a bachelor’s degree. This track requires students to complete twenty-four months of full-time, year-round graduate course work in occupational therapy followed by 24 weeks of Level II Fieldwork. This track culminates with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) degree. To be eligible to apply as a COT student:

At-least 72-78 Undergraduate credits must be completed by the August 1st application deadline.

90 Undergraduate credits must be completed by the start of the OT program in the January after the application deadline.

If submitting a portfolio on August 1st with less than 90 credits a plan for how the full 90 credits will be complete by the January immediately following the application deadline must be included.

All general education courses have been or will be fully complete by the January immediately following the application deadline. General education courses can be completed in the fall semester as portfolios are being reviewed.

Transfer students have been accepted to EMU and have met with a general academic advisor to identify how previous coursework will transfer to EMU.

Admission Criteria

Portfolio Deadline

The competitive admission process consists of a review of portfolios. Portfolios must be received no later than August 1st for students interested in beginning the program in the winter semester of that academic year. No late submissions are accepted.

Detailed information about the portfolio process can be found on the program’s website. We strongly encourage all students interested in applying to the program to attend a group advising session with the OT Intent Advisor and meet with the OT Intent Advisor in order to successfully complete their application. Applicants may only apply to the Occupational Therapy Program two times.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

The GRE revised General Test or GRE General Test is required as part of the application process to EMU Occupational Therapy program for both the MOT and COT tracks. There is no test that is acceptable as a substitute for the GRE. Results of the GRE General Test must be included in the portfolio. GRE test results are accepted if taken within 3 years of an applicant’s date of application. If taking the GRE in the months leading up to the application, it should be taken no later than June 30th in order to ensure scores are available by the August 1st application deadline. Results should be sent to Eastern Michigan University anda copy of the results placed in the portfolio. To register for this examination, please visit this website. There is no minimum GRE score necessary to be considered for admission however average scores admitted to the program include a combined score of over 300 on the quantitative/verbal and 4.0 on the writing. If testing accommodations are needed, please visit www.ets.org/disabilities. Accommodation requests should be submitted to ETS as early as possible.

GRE score reports must be received following the guidelines as delineated above. In the event that appropriate score reports are not provided to EMU and found within the portfolio, the candidate will be removed from consideration for admission.

GPA

Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 at the time of application. This GPA will be calculated from the last 60 semester/90 quarter units of course work. It is the expectation that the average successful applicant has a GPA much higher than 3.0.

Pre-Admission Coursework

In order to be considered for admission to the occupational therapy program, applicants must complete the following pre-admission courses with a grade of B- or better. All courses must be completed within 10 years of the application deadline with the exception of Statistics, Anatomy and Physiology, and Neuroanatomy, which must be 5 years of age or younger on the application deadline. Visit pre-admission courses for more information. If you have previously taken these courses at another university, please note that all pre-admission substitutions must be pre-approved before the submission of your portfolio. All pre-admission coursework must be completed by the August 1st application deadline. Submission of your portfolio without course completion or pre-approval will result in your application being denied.

All pre-admission courses must be taken at a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Pre-admission courses may be taken at traditional four-year universities or community colleges. Both traditional classroom settings and online courses from these institutions are acceptable. Advanced placement credit consideration will be provided for Introductory Psychology and Statistics only. There are no exceptions to this requirement.

All pre-admission courses (including associated labs) must be completed with a minimum grade of “B-.” For pre-admission courses with separate final grades assigned for Lecture and Lab sections on a transcript, a minimum grade of “B-” is required in both sections. There is no averaging of these grades together. Applicants enrolled at institutions that use a combined letter grading scale (such as “AB” or “BC”), all pre-admission courses must be “A”, “AB”, or “B”. Receiving a grade of “BC” or lower does not meet the minimum grade requirement.

For applicants enrolled at institutions that use a numerical system for grading, all pre-admission courses must have a grade of at least “2.7”. Receiving a grade of “2.5” or lower does not meet the minimum grade requirement. No pre-admission course may be taken as “credit/no credit,” “pass/fail” or “advanced credit,” as a grade must be assigned.

Course Waiver, Advanced Placement or Testing Out

No pre-admission course waivers will be allowed, advanced placement courses/credits will be accepted for statistics and introductory psychology only and there is no testing out of any pre-admission course requirements. Every pre-admission course must be taken according to the information on this page. There are no tests that can be taken or will be accepted to waive pre-admission course requirements. Further, no personal experiences or work history will be accepted in place of any of the required pre-admission courses.

Transfer/Course Equivalency

Pre-admission courses may not actually transfer into the EMU OT Program. Successful completion of all pre-admission courses fulfills one of the minimum requirements necessary to matriculate into the EMU OT Program. The EMU OT Program makes the final determination as to whether a pre-admission course requirement has been met. Applicants are cautioned that transfer equivalency lists may not reflect the EMU OT Program’s acceptable pre-admission courses. Course equivalency review may take up to 4 weeks and should be planned for accordingly.

Coursework Outside the US - International Applicants

An international applicant is defined as a student who is either not a United States citizen or a student who has educational credentials (taken any college/university courses) from outside the United States. All applicants to the EMU Occupational Therapy Program with non-U.S. post-secondary educational credentials (taken any college/university courses) must submit an evaluation of all non-U.S. post-secondary education using Educational Perspectives (EP). EP is the only educational credential evaluation service that is accepted by EMU. A “Detailed” Report (course-by-course evaluation) and the US –equivalent Grade Point Average (GPA) is required. Please visit the EP website for details on how to submit the evaluation request and obtain an EP application form.

Applicants who do not possess a Bachelor’s degree from a post-secondary institution where English is the principal language of instruction must take and pass the TOEFL with a score of 84 or better. No tests other than TOEFL will be accepted. Applicants must report their TOEFL scores in their portfolio application by August 1 and an official TOEFL score report must be sent to the EMU Occupational Therapy Program. Students who are applying to the EMU Occupational Therapy Program are encouraged to take ESLN 565 prior to the start of classes.

All international applicants are expected to understand and meet all other eligibility requirements for admission to the EMU Occupational Therapy Program and the Graduate School. For more information about the Graduate School requirements, please visit the International Student webpage. For questions about residency/visa or financial requirements, please contact the Office of International Admissions at international.admissions@emich.edu.

References

August 1, 2017 Applicants - Students must submit three academic reference forms. No personal or professional references will be accepted. Criteria for the academic reference forms can be found here. Each reference must include the credentials and contact information of the individual completing the reference. All letters of academic reference must be written within the three years prior to application.

August 1, 2018 Applicants - Students must submit three reference forms. including at least one academic and one professional reference. Criteria for the reference forms can be found here. Each reference must include the credentials and contact information of the individual completing the reference. All letters of reference must be written within the three years prior to application. There is no specific requirement regarding the credentials or background of the individuals who supply the letters of reference. We recommend applicants obtain references from individuals who can provide insight into an applicant’s abilities in the classroom or workplace, interpersonal skills, and qualities that would make them a good fit for EMU’s occupational therapy program.

Volunteer Experience

August 1, 2017 Applicants - A minimum of 100 hours volunteer, work or service learning experience must be completed prior to the application deadline. All volunteer hours must be completed within the three years prior to the applicant’s date of application.

Volunteer work must consist of:

A minimum of 20 hours with an Occupational Therapist in any setting

A minimum of 20 hours in an agency that is committed to social justice, community welfare, community building, health and wellness, for example. Examples of agencies committed to social justice: soup kitchens, homeless shelters, habitat for humanity, food banks, boys and girls clubs.

The remaining 60 hours can include:

Additional hours with an Occupational Therapist in any setting

Additional hours in an agency that is committed to social justice, community welfare, community building, health and wellness, for example. Examples of agencies committed to social justice: soup kitchens, homeless shelters, habitat for humanity, food banks, boys and girls clubs.

Hours where the focus is on individuals with occupational performance issues (physical, mental, developmental, etc.) or on issues that are created due to environmental factors including social, cultural, economic, political, etc.

NOTE:

Students who have taken the undergraduate elective of OCTH 201L2 will have fulfilled 80 hours of the volunteer requirements. The applicant will still need to complete an additional 20 hours with an Occupational Therapist in any setting.

Applicants should document their volunteer experiences on the form provided here.

August 1, 2018 Applicants - A minimum of 20 hours of volunteering or observation with an OT in at least 2 different settings must be completed prior to the application deadline. All OT volunteer/observation hours must be completed within the three years prior to the applicant’s date of application.

Application Form

August 1, 2018 Applicants - The application form provides information on an applicant’s previous and current life experiences, including but not limited to work, volunteer, and community engagement.

Portfolio

The portfolio should be in a 1-inch binder, well organized, professional and include:

An identification page

Official and sealed transcripts from all colleges attended. We will accept unofficial transcripts from Eastern Michigan University only

A table or list of pre-admission courses (include name and number of course, grade received, institution where completed). Course pre-approval documentation must accompany the table of courses.

Results of the GRE.

Reference and volunteer/observation experience on required forms.

Application Form (Summer/Fall 2018 Applicants Only)

Submit the completed application portfolio by August 1st to:

The Occupational Therapy Program
Eastern Michigan University
313 Marshall Building
Ypsilanti, MI 48197

Applications can be submitted as early as May of the application year and will not be accepted after August 1st. If mailing a portfolio, allow sufficient time for the receipt of this packet by August 1st. Write “OT Application Portfolio” to the left of the address on the front of the envelope. Incomplete portfolios will not be reviewed.

Scoring Criteria

August 1, 2017 Applicants - Acceptance into the Occupational Therapy program is based on a comprehensive assessment. For detailed scoring information, click here.

August 1, 2018 Applicants - Acceptance into the Occupational Therapy program is based on a comprehensive assessment and interview of selected applicants. For detailed scoring information, click here.

Still have questions about applying to the Occupational Therapy Program?

Group sessions are strongly encouraged, prior to contacting the OT Intent Advisor. Upcoming sessions can be found here. Still have questions? Contact us via email at ot_intent_advising@emich.edu

Rules and Regulations

In addition to the above requirements, all EMU Occupational Therapy Program students must agree to abide by the Rules and Regulations of the program. These can be found in the EMU OT Program Student Handbook.

Advisor Information

Additional Program Information

Program of Study

Occupational therapy advising for occupational therapy-intent students is performed by the OT intent advisor or the College of Health and Human Services Advising Center. All applicants should attend a group advising session with the OT intent advisor to discuss admission and portfolio requirements. Upon acceptance into the occupational therapy program, students are assigned a faculty advising team. All students admitted to the program must meet with their advising team before registering each semester.

Scholarships

The Occupational Therapy program offers a number of scholarships to students who are admitted to the program. Information is annually distributed from the OT program to students who are currently enrolled in the occupational therapy program. There are also a number of University scholarships available to students. Contact the Office of Financial Aid for information.

Fieldwork

All occupational therapy students must complete two Level II Fieldwork experiences within 24 months following completion of the didactic portion of the program. Students have the right to request part-time or full-time fieldwork. Students who desire part-time fieldwork must make this request in writing to the fieldwork coordinator prior to placement arrangement.

National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT)

The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. (NBCOT) administers the national certification examination for occupational therapists in the United States. Upon successful completion of the academic and fieldwork requirements, graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the National Certification Examination for the Occupational Therapist, administered by the NBCOT. After successful completion of this exam, the graduate will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). All students must pass the NBCOT certification examination to practice in the profession of occupational therapy. In addition to passing the NBCOT certification examination, most states require licensure to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT certification examination. A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure. Character background information is reviewed by NBCOT to determine a person’s ability to sit for the examination. If you have any potential impediments, such as a felony charge or conviction, charges of malpractice or willful intentional misconduct, we strongly recommend that you contact NBCOT (www.nbcot.org) to determine your eligibility to sit for the national examination.

Combined Program Total: 164 hours

Critical Graduation Information

The following are minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult the on-line catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.

Earn a minimum total of 124 credits at the 100-level and above. Courses with numbers below 100 will not be counted toward this degree requirement. At most 8 credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses will be counted toward this requirement.

Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below).

Complete a Writing Intensive (WI) Course in your major.

Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement. (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details.)

Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.

Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.

Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor; students should check requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required.

Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits in excess of the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 124 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.

Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.

Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor

Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.

Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor

Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; the internal review of such courses is conducted by individual departments/schools within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credits for transferred courses; grades are not used in the calculation of an EMU GPA.

Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU in order to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses taken at EMU and those applied to a student’s major or minor, will be used in the calculation of their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)

General Education Requirements | EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or with similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available on the General Education section of the undergraduate catalog.

Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.